Start-to-Finish™ BooksOverview

2

Raising expectations that all students can develop literacy skills...

“No student is too anything to be able to read and write”

Dr. David YoderDJI-AbleNet Literacy Lecture

ISAAC 2000

3

Overview Objectives

Demonstrate benefits of Start-to-Finish Books

Provide opportunities for experience with: Becoming familiar with the three formats of

Start-to-Finish books – computer book, paperback book, audiocassette

Using all the buttons on a page Completing a chapter quiz Setting teacher options Gaining knowledge on the Start-to-Finish Books series Using Write:OutLoud to import illustrations from the CD Using Start-to-Finish Topic Dictionaries with Co:Writer 4000

Share ideas for classroom/curriculum integration

Provide opportunities for self-assessment

4

Reading Statistics

• 38% of the nation’s fourth-graders do not read at basic level, according to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) studies.

• About 10 million children have difficulties learning to read. • In a comparison of 27 countries, the U.S. is ranked second

in reading literacy scores for 9 year olds and ninth for 14 year olds. (Children's Defense Fund: State of America's Children, 2000.)

• Most of the learning in middle and secondary schools is expected to occur through students’ reading.

5

The Circle of Literacy Learning™

6

Support Struggling Readers

7

• Scaffolds students to independent reading

• Builds confident, motivated readers

• Increases background knowledge and supports content-area learning

Start-to-Finish™ Books

8

Three Formats

Computer Book

Paperback Book

Audiocassette

9

• Written and edited by experts in the fields of language, learning and reading disabilities

• 50 + guidelines ensure that vocabulary, idioms and sentence complexity are controlled and new words are introduced in a supported manner

• Acknowledges the developmental sequence of acquiring language and learning to read

Written for Success Formula

10

Written for Success Formula

Examples from 50 guidelines (Gold Level):• Reduced dependence upon background knowledge

– Uncommon words and misleading idioms are carefully introduced and explained in context

• Simple, conversational vocabulary; simple suffix usage:– -ing, -ed, -s, -er, -est (exciting, lonely, destroyed)

• Limited types of complex sentences– Adverbial clauses use when, while, after and because

– Coordinated sentences use and, so, but

– Word order matches order of events

– Subject is not usually separated from verb

11

Examples from 50 guidelines (Blue Level):• Idiomatic language and similes and metaphors used often and with

less direct explanation. When Penelope entered the great hall of the palace, the men fell silent marveling at her beauty.

• More complex and abstract vocabulary; higher level suffix usage: -ment, -less, -ness, -ful (excitement, loneliness, destruction)

• More varied types of sentence structure. Her name was Helen, and she was the wife of Menelaos, the king of the Greek city of Sparta.

• More ideas incorporated into longer sentences. Beautiful Helen, the cause of all the long years of fighting, was captured and returned to her husband, King Menelaos.

Written for Success Formula

12

Reading Comprehension

• Customizable support provides the right scaffolds for each student

• Unfamiliar and key words are supported in context• Digitized speech enhances meaning

through correct intonation• Chapter quizzes provide motivation

for rereading • PDF files support extension

activities for comprehension• Two readability levels provide text

written to meet student needs

13

Self-Selected Reading

• Engaging topics match the interests and issues of the older reader

• Two readability levels provide the right support for students at different levels

• Three formats provide the necessary support for successful independent reading experiences

14

Teacher Options

• Individual student data collection

• Individual student reading preferences

• Testing preferences• Access preferences• View and print reports

15

Engaging Literature

• Literature– Classic Adventures, Classic

Literature, Famous Short Stories

• History– A Step into History

• Mysteries– Nick Ford Mysteries, Sherlock

Holmes Mysteries

• Science and Nature– Natural Disasters

• Sports– Sports Biographies

16

Off-computer Supports

Teacher Materials– Words for review

– Cloze comprehension

– Multiple choice

– Sentence completion

17

Reading and Writing Connection

Import Topic Dictionaries

to use new vocabulary from

the story and write stronger sentences

Import Start-to-Finish illustrations to enhance

writing

18

Curriculum Integration

• Reading— Use Start-to-Finish books as a supplement to or as part of your reading curriculum.

• Social Studies— Using a Start-to-Finish History series book, students explain the impact a hero had on the way we live today.

• Science— After reading a Start-to-Finish Natural Disasters book, students illustrate key facts from the book in BuildAbility.

• Math— Students track their own scores from the quizzes by charting their score results.

• Writing/Language Arts— Students write a draft comparing their own life to a main character’s life using one of the Start-to-Finish templates in Draft:Builder.

19

• Students have increased motivation and positive attitude toward reading

• Students read with improved fluency, intonation and reading rate

• Students increase their reading comprehension skills

• Students increase their knowledge in content-area subjects

Student Outcomes

800.999.4660www.donjohnston.com